Early Days
by 30back
Summary: A take on the academy days and how they got together. 10 chapters. Rated K for the first couple of chapters, but moving into M later...
1. Chapter 1

**Early**** days.**

_Part 1. _

Nyotas point of view.

Well. He certainly was handsome; she'd give him that… That was Nyotas' first thought when he entered the classroom where her advanced xenolinguistics were to take place. His pale yellow-green complexion alone made him stand out in a crowd, never mind the pointy ears. She had heard both female instructors and cadets sighing wistfully over him because of that almost hypnotic effect he had. She'd also heard that he went to great pains to avoid too much contact with females, as it sometimes ended with a tearful scene. At least there was that rumour that circulated about a girl named Kalomi or something.

The reputation he had made for himself as one of the strictest instructors along with the fact that he always stood with his back straight and his hands on his back, gave him an strange "old world" feel. Like something out of an old novel or something. Like a king or a knight… She let her mind wander a bit but got yanked back to the reality of Starfleet Academy by his matter-of-fact-voice.

"I am Commander Spock. You will either refer to me as Commander or Mr. Spock. In this class you will get to study alien languages; Morphologi, phonologi, syntax. The more proficient you become in this, the better possibility you will have to get assignment on a starship. I will expect each and every one of you to do your utmost at any time to better yourselves in this subject; however experience tells me that most of the persons in this classroom at present time will not succeed in finishing this class."

The cadets stirred nervously. Nyota almost felt her jaw dropping. Was he seriously starting up a class by saying they most likely wouldn't succeed? "Well," she thought while mentally shrugging, "Let's see what he's got. I've made it this far…" She relaxed her shoulders which had somehow crawled up in a tense cramp. If she looked around her she could see a lot of shoulders and jaw muzzles being tense. "I'll make it. I'll show him." She thought straightening her back and looking at him in what she hoped was a defying way.

She soon learned however that it was no where near enough, to just want to be the best. In the Commanders class you had to PROOVE everything before it was approved. With most of the other instructors there was always the possibility to dispute a grading of a paper, but with him, it might as well have been written in stone. She especially got a lot of heat in the beginning, when she thought she could get away with statements and not back it up with proper arguing. But somehow, in this "Think or sink"-situation, she found she was thriving on the challenge.

His scathing answer or the way he could win a discussion in a few sentences sometimes made her feel like she hadn't tried hard enough. When she felt like that she grid her teeth and worked harder than she had ever thought possible. As the year went on she slowly settled into a rhythm, and even when she hadn't slept for, what seemed like, an eternity and it felt like her brain could think no more, she felt like she had finally found her niche.

She was very careful not to openly enjoy his laconic answer to what she thought were some of the more obvious questions. Sometimes she even suspected him of making jokes only to be understood by those "in the know" and she spent hours, and sometimes even whole vacations, coming up with waterproof arguments. She often tried to test her theories or arguments on her roommate Gaila or some of the others from the Xenolinguistics class, but usually she only achieved them getting bored or in some cases angry.

"Sheez! Nyota. Can't you talk about something else?"

Nyota looked with surprise at the blond girl she had been chatting with. She had thought they were having a nice conversation, but now she realized they had talked of nothing else than the grammar of ancient Ska'abu.

"I get enough of that in class. No, I don't know what the infinite verb of "s*roij*t" is… I DON'T CARE! OK!" She threw her notebook on the table in front of Nyota and stalked of. The rest of the group sat silent for a few seconds, obviously uncomfortable.

"OK," Nyota said, trying to save the situation, "Maybe I got a bit "One-trick-pony there. Didn't mean to freak her out…" She smiled at the others around the table.

"C'mon Nyota" a very tall girl, with glowing purple eyes and orange tinted skin, said. "You know she just failed her last paper. Maybe it's not such a good idea to shove it in her face that you already have started studying Ska'abu… Like that is something she needs…"

Nyota looked surprised. "Tanli… Is Gitte failing?"

Tanli focused her strange eyes on Nyota. "Sweetie. I can name at least seven others that are struggling to keep up this year. And I don't blame them. We know it's going to get harder after summers break, and he isn't exactly Mr. Sweet-Talker, our dear and glorious Mr. Spock, is he?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think he's alright… I mean, the standard of his graduates are usually so high that I bet it's worth it…"

"Bah. "_alright_"? Nyota." The intrusion came from Simon, a brown haired, blue eyed young man. "That guy is like a robot or something. Just standing there rattling information, like it's going out of fashion…"

Xasha interrupted with a scowl on his face "…And it's not like it's enjoyable to be humiliated on a weekly basis all year long by that poity-eared…"

"A robot! He's a ROBOT I tells ya!" Simon yelled in a mock-panicky voice, grinning. They all cracked up and relaxed a bit.

Nyota laughed with them, but when her eyes caught the notebook Gitte had left as she stormed out she grew silent. "Seriously guys… I really think he is alright. He may be a bit sarcastic from time to time, but that's only when you ask the most silly questions, or try, Simon, to argue that it _feels_ right to use a word. I could have told you that that wouldn't be very popular…"

"Nyota, you can be such a nerd sometimes." Xasha smiled at her to make his words sound less harsh. "Of course YOU can handle it, and even find time to appreciate to his "subtle humour", or what ever. You almost scare the rest of us with your work ethics and how quickly you pick up on things. I mean… If I didn't know better I'd think you were a robot too…"

Nyota felt the sting of that remark, but smiled never the less. They spent the rest of the afternoon teasing each other, and Nyota were very careful not to mention any topics related to Xenolinguistics.

However, when she closed the door to her doormroom and settled down to go to sleep, she thought about what had been said. She didn't really think it was fair to call her a robot just because she liked a subject, but she knew what they had all meant. She certainly had a flair for catching languages, both Terran and others. She had, what her Granny had said, a _zawadi maalum _, a gift, for it. She had been called _parrot kidogo_, Little Parrot, back home sometimes, because of her talent for speaking in any language she encountered. It also made some people back away from her.

She had gotten used to not flaunting this special "gift" because of how other people got insecure around someone so talented. She supposed it didn't help that she often accidentally talked "shop" and, as Gittes' reaction clearly had shown her; there was a limit in other people's interest in the subject…

The workload and the high demands in xenolinguistics steadily grew after the summer break, and during the year more and more cadets gave up, just like Mr Spock had predicted. Nyota never heard him mentioning the steady drop in attendees in class. When spring came they were about fifteen students left in the class, and The Commander was lecturing on the subject of the dialects of the Scandinavian settlers on Elsingore VI.

"The settlers consisted mostly of Scandinavians from the costal areas, as they were forced to move because of the rising sea level. This meant a large part of the Scandinavian settlers were used to water and therefore had no problem assimilating to the life at Elsingore VI, which, as you know is almost entirely covered by sea. This fact, getting used to the more aquatic life, had some interesting effects to the Scandinavian dialect in a matter of a few years. If you observe this audio/visual recording you can hear for your self how the retroflex has become less prominent and how they seems to have adopted a more nasal sound to their tone. This is believed to be the effect of having to live underwater for such a extended period of time as well as the symbiotic relationship the settlers seems to have developed with the native "Ohm-ra'-ruck", which is in many ways comparable to what we used to know as "Whales" here on Earth."

Nyotas hand shot in the air. "Excuse me Commander"

His eyes found her and calmly acknowledged her "Cadet Uhura. Do you have a question?"

"Yes, well… The settlers didn't adopt that way of talking until they came to Elsingore VI?" She asked curiously. She could see in her periphery vision that both Xasha and Tanli were a thousand miles away.

The Commander looked at a point over her head. "No, Ms Uhura. As I said; the dialect was developed as a result of the settlers having to adapt to the new environment…" He was about to press play when she interrupted again.

"But Commander, The people who were going to settle on Elsingore VI were aware of the environment they were going to, weren't they? And if you search the library for communications with aquatic lifeforms with extra focus on earth mammals' one name pops up. Namely the marine biologist Inge-Lise Ström. She had made extensive research and experiments on this subject AND she was among the settlers on Elsingore VI. It was she in fact who developed this new dialect before the settlement took place as a way to ease communication with the native intelligent species. This makes this dialect a created dialect in that it didn't originate by osmoses but rather was dictated by one single person." Nyota took a deep breath. She had been waiting for this moment. The moment of actually being able to correct him. And it wasn't much, some might say it was too small to care about, but damn it. It was something!...

The commander had, during her little speech lowered his gaze to look at her directly, and now that she was done his face was completely expressionless and his hands had found their way to his back. Nyota kept looking into his unblinking eyes, and fighting the urge to look down or away or start fidgeting out of nervousness. And how she hoped he wouldn't unleash his scathing sarcasm on her because he found a flaw in her argument…

Even Simon who had been almost drooling on himself out of tedium had registered that something unusual was going on. Most of the students sat up a little straighter and paid attention to what was going on. Maybe Nyota was going to get an earful for interrupting or making a mistake. Anything to disrupt the boredom of studying whistles, whoops and gurgles.

Finally the Commander blinked and cocked his head a bit. "It seems my research into the subject of Elsingore VI has not been sufficiently extensive, and that I was in error in assuming the origins of their dialect. My thanks, Ms Uhura, for pointing it out." He looked at her with neutral eyes. But at least he looked at her and not at the usual point above her head. "Now, if we can watch the recording I want you to pay attention to…" The Commander pressed play and the class collectively sighed as the sounds of whistling and splashes lulled them back into boredom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Early days**

_Part 2_

Spocks point of view:

Spock gathered the last things before leaving his office. He had proximately 15 minutes before he had to be at the classroom. He preferred to arrive at the classroom at precisely two minutes before the lesson were scheduled to start.

He frowned for a moment while reflecting on the nature of humans, in particular the cadets attending this year's advanced xenolinguistics. He had heard them whisper about him on the way out of the classroom when he dismissed the class, and that were something he was getting quite used to. Often he tried to ignore their whispers as it was obviously not intended for him to hear. However, his students tended to forget that his ears were quite a bit more sensitive than the human ear.

Thus he had heard, once again the rebellious mumbling about how he wanted the impossible and how he taught things that would never be utilised. Humans expressing this kind of emotions were not unusual; he rather thought he had heard them too often since he had agreed on teaching a class for the Academy.

Still he was confused by this behaviour. On Vulcan, in his childhood, the thought of giving vent to any kind of dissatisfaction concerning a teacher, instructor or master would never even have occurred to him. Humans tended to be offended if one discovered an error they had made, which confused Spock regularly. They failed to appreciate that the fact that he were pointing out their mistakes were for the benefit of them selves. How would they improve if they did not see their mistakes? Spock checked his internal clock and discovered that it was time to go. He took his PADD and headed for the classroom.

Spock fixed his gaze slightly above the blonde-haired cadet. "As you can clearly see Ms. Henningsen, you have overlooked the volume of 'h'*ari-* in your cross-referencing. In a training situation such as this it will have no greater consequence. However, should you make a mistake such as this when serving on a Star Ship; you would have risked interplanetary war. Perhaps one can request that until you have mastered the basic greetings, you might remain here on earth, as to not create a rebellion on the outer planets?"

The rest of the class tensed. Gitte, the blonde cadet, went almost scarlet from the neck up. Spock turned to the projector and resumed his lecture.

He was interrupted by a voice which sounded quite hysterical. "You know what Commander?" He turned and found the cadet with his eyes.

"Ms Henningsen, you have something to contribute?" He said, giving her permission to speak.

"I think I'm done with this. I don't really feel like taking any more remarks about how I am going to cause this war and that war. It can't possibly be that bad. You're always exaggerating, trying to make us nervous!"

"Cadet Henningsen. You mistakenly translated the sentence "We will be glad to see you" to something along the lines of "We are going to kick your teeth in". In what way do you expect that to calm the settlers on the outer mining planets?" He raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, whilst regarding her with neutral eyes.

She stuttered a bit before slamming her PADD down on her desk. "Well! If I'm such a moron I guess I should be somewhere else!" She furiously threw her belongings in her backpack. She paused and looked up on him.

Spock said nothing, while she gathered her things, but when she paused he took the opportunity. "I would appreciate if you could collect you belongings with some haste Ms Henningsen. There is still quite the schedule we have to cover today, and as you will no longer participate, I see no reason in you prolonging your stay here."

The cadet stared at him with disbelief, threw the last of her things in her bag and marched out. The rest of the cadets were suddenly very quiet. Spock continued his lecture. About an hour later he realized that most of the cadets had not been listening for quite some time. They seemed preoccupied with sending notes to each other, or had just subsided into some kind of passive stare out the window.

He debated with him self for about 2:23 seconds to start over, but realized that this was with certainty a lesson lost. "Attention cadets." He said, making his voice sharper, which made them all take notice. "Since it appears you have all mentally excused yourself from this lesson you are all physically excused as well. That will be all for today… However I expect you all to pay more attention next week. Dismissed." He turned his back to them, and heard them rattle and shuffle to get out as quick as possible.

When finally there was quiet Spock allowed himself to feel a hint of frustration. In his mind he ran the situation again and even though he might have gotten a bit irritated in the end, he could not find any reason why the entire class should stop thinking because one cadet decided to quit the class.

He shook his head ever so slightly and even mumbled to him self, "Illogical". He gathered his thoughts and turned to collect his PADD. When he looked up he saw cadet Uhura standing in the door.

"Ms Uhura. Did you have a question?" he asked her, trying to regain some dignity. He hoped she had not heard him mumbling to himself.

"No Commander. I… Well, yes. I actually do have a question…" She approached him hesitantly. When she was by his desk she stood still. "Mr. Spock, I just wondered if it was necessary, what you did to day? I mean Gitte… Ms Henningsen was really upset, and maybe…" She paused"… Maybe you could have done that differently.." She held her bag tight in her hands, looking like she was expecting a thunderstorm.

Spock regarded her and came to the conclusion that Ms Uhura weren't there to verbally abuse or throw, what he had experienced from humans before, a tantrum. "Doubtless you are right Ms Uhura that I do not always choose the right words in accordance to human temperament. It seems like I sometimes offends where the purpose is to state a logical fact"

He looked down and frowned. "In fact, I confess, you humans tend to be so overwrought with feelings that I find it is often quite difficult to predict your responses. I did not foresee Ms Henningsen quitting the class, and I admit to not being able to prevent more cadets to do the same." He felt the frustration again. It was not an enjoyable situation, to have a problem one could not solve by applying logic.

"Commander… Mr. Spock… Can I make a suggestion?" she looked up at him, and he grew curious. "Well, you see, you, sometimes, have a tendency to focus on the errors we have made. Humans don't really respond to that very well. We might learn better if you mentioned what we had done that were correct…" He stood with his hands at his back and slightly tilted head. "Your students are scared of you Mr. Spock. Humans are not easy to teach anything if we are scared. Make us feel safe, and I guarantee the class, as a whole, will improve."

Spock allowed a small furrow to his brow "It is illogical to ignore the fact that there have been made an error. If one do not see the error how can one avoid the same error in the future?"

"Maybe you could point out something positive after you have mentioned the mistake?" She looked into his eyes, clearly trying to figure out how he was receiving her advice. None of them spoke for a while.

The silence seemed to make her uneasy. He once again regretted that he seemed to make others nervous. He appreciated Ms. Uhura making the effort of returning and explaining this to him. Still she appeared not to harbour the same degree of uneasiness he usually saw in the rest of the students. He surmised that her present tension of the shoulders and the way she had a very tense grip of her PADD was due to this particular situation.

"Your suggestion would be a compromise I can accept." He said and saw her body language relax. He paused. "Ms Uhura… You mention fear as an emotion that is prominent in this class… I do not detect any signs of fear on your part… Am I correct in assuming this is a… Feeling… you do not experience during my lessons?"

He saw her thinking about it and suddenly she looked him in the eyes with a steady gaze. "I see no reason to fear you, Mr Spock." She said with what, to his ears, sounded like a mixture of surprise and certainty.

He regarded her. She had a dignity and grace about her that was undeniable. It reminded him of the women of his home planet except that in Ms Uhuras case, she had a softness, a compassion that made her come back and defend a cadet which had already quit the course. It was like she drew strength from that softness, and still she was to date the most stubborn, most persistent student he had ever encountered.

He also found time to appreciate the symmetry of her features and the way her jaw line told of a strong will and at the same time perfectly complemented the rest of her features. Her eyes were always very expressive and shone with whatever feeling she was experiencing at the moment. Right now they seemed to convey fascination and maybe some nervousness.

Spock realized that he had been staring at her for more than would ever be considered appropriate in either of the worlds he was from. He looked away and berated himself for letting his guard down, even if it was just for a moment. When he looked back at her she was looking down at her PADD and fiddling with some dials.

Pulling himself together he thanked her. "I am thankful that you would take the time to point out an aspect of the lessons which I can improve, Ms Uhura. I will rectify the situation promptly." He very carefully made sure he did not look into her eyes, but in his periphery vision he saw her smile and relax.

"That's alright Mr. Spock. I just wanted to help…" She turned and headed for the doors. When she was just about to leave she seemed to pause, and Spock though still avoiding to watch her were aware of her hesitation. She stood there for 2.09 seconds before leaving with the doors sliding shut behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Early days**

_Part 3_

Nyotas point of view:

Nyota was walking back from class, thinking how Commander Spock has improved as a teacher. Granted most of the other cadets had quit and now in their third year there were five students left in the xenolinguistics class but they were, all of them, getting better and more proficient at a steady pace.

She was enjoying helping the others almost every time after class, and didn't notice that she was in a way translating from "Spock-speak" to human-speak.

About half way through, the semester, when they were in the lounge-area studying after a class she saw him walking by, with his hands on his back. Nyota pretended not to notice him. After all he was watching them from quite a distance. She just hoped he wouldn't think she was intruding in his teaching.

"No, Xasha. That's not the right translation… See, if you change the sentence structure, and put the verb before the object…" Nyota pointed to where Xasha should look. He thought about it for a moment.

"Oh, I see…" He changed what he had written and looked up with a smile "Thanks, Ny. It seems so easy when you explain it like that. Nyota smiled and turned to help Tanli. She often had difficulties pronouncing words, and Nyota had helped find some klingon tongue twisters she could practise.

Both girls laughed when Tanli almost physically tripped over a sentence. Nyota repeated the sentence slowly and listened while the other inched nearer some resemblance of what it was supposed to sound like.

"Hey, Geek-girl! Help!" she heard a voice in mock-panic call. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the commander taking a few steps closer as to better observe.

"What is it, Si?" She turned with a smile.

"Well… What would you suggest I looked up if I was to study, say… m'fasmuh?" Simon had a very innocent look in his eyes. She didn't buy it though.

"Simon. I suggest _you_ do the thinking on this one. Surely, a clever boy like you can come up with something on your own." Nyota had soon discovered that Simon, though brilliant, had a very lazy streak. "So move your butt. And you're not saying it right. It's not "muh-fasmue"…"

She turned away to help the last of their group. A ginger-haired girl named Eve. Nyota couldn't quite figure her out. She seemed as normal as anything, but when she was stressed or needed help, it was like she emitted a soft glow, which made her features smooth and gave her hair a beautiful softness. It also made every male feel like a knight in shining armour.

As she turned she caught a glimpse of Mr Spock. He almost had a smile playing in the corners of his mouth, and his eyebrows were raised. Nyota looked directly at him as he turned to walk away, and she was sure she heard him mumbling "fascinating".

Nyota smiled and raised an eyebrow in imitation of him. She was having the time of her life. It had never really occurred to her how much she missed having somebody to talk to about this her greatest interest. How often had she had to keep quiet about something because she knew that people wouldn't get what she was talking about? She had never before had a group of people she could relax like this with.

One day in the spring, as the group was gathered once again at the lounge-area to study, Eve started to glow. The rest of them had learned to interpret this as some sort of distress beacon. Simon moved closer to Eve and obviously wanted to put his arms around her. Before he succeeded Nyota intervened.

"Eve? Do you have a problem? Need help?" Nyota had to admit that the soft glow even called to _her_ protective instincts.

Eve shook her head and bended over her PADD.

"OK, it's just… You're doing that thing with the light again, and honestly, I don't think Simon can take any more of that. You're making him all… Gooey…"

Eve lifted her head to look at Simon. He was staring at her with sappiness written all over his face. The girl smiled a half smile and shot a glance at Nyota "Sorry." She mumbled. The glow slowly subsided. Simon looked like he was woken from a pleasant dream.

"That's some ability you've got there, Eve. Very handy…" Nyota smiled. "Why don't you just ask me, and if I can't answer we'll figure it out." She sat down on the couch next to Eve, who shuffled over to make room for her.

"I just don't get this… It's Romulan, and I'm pretty sure it has some cultural reference I don't know about. I've cross-referenced, but it's just… No good…" Eve began glowing slightly again, but Nyota quickly calmed her.

"Hey Eve, keep cool, OK? Deep breaths…" She thought about the problem. "Look, I'm gonna go ask the commander. He must be in his office now and it's right around the corner..." She shot a glance at Simon who still looked a bit hazy. "Just don't start the light show. I'll be right back." She stood up and walked in the direction of the instructors offices.

She had just knocked on the door and was checking her uniform-dress for lint or creases when she heard him call enter. His voice sounded different somehow. More mellow, even softer. She stepped in the office taking a few seconds to register the unusually dimmed lights. She was wondering what that scent in the air was when she finally saw him. He was sitting comfortably with his legs crossed and his eyes were only half open.

"I'm sorry Commander." She said in a voice that, to her, sounded al wrong. Why was she suddenly out of breath? "I… I can come back later, when..." she really couldn't remember what she was going to say. Maybe it was the way he had turned up the room temperature, or maybe it was the fact that he was sitting there with his shirt of, looking up at her.

"No, Ms Uhura. If you will give me a few moments I shall have finished my meditation and be at your service" He said, his voice still without that edge to it that she was used to. He was wearing some loose fitting trousers and had shed his usual black instructors' top. No doubt it was to constrictive to meditate in. She looked at his face and felt like the little air that were still left in the room, now completely vanished.

His eyes were very dark and more expressive that she had ever seen them. They lingered at her legs and slowly wandered up to appreciate her body and her long neck and finally stopping at her mouth. It seemed like he hadn't had the time for putting all of his usual barriers up against the world.

He breathed in deeply and moved to stand. She looked at the flat muzzles in his stomach and shoulders. In fact she was getting an eyeful as he stood up. It had never quite occurred to her that her instructor commander was not only very attractive but also very sexy. She openly gawked at him, appreciating how the yellow-green complexion and the dark chest hair seemed to accentuate his toned body.

"How may I be of service Ms Uhura" His voice snapped her back to the reality of what she was doing and where she was. Her eyes tried to find a place to fix and found his eyes. In them she saw a glimpse of interest and humour. Suddenly she was nervous like she hadn't been before. She also felt an annoying shyness.

"Uhm… I… We, that is, I… We had this question concerning the Romulan assignment…" She recapped Eves question, without being able to even hear her own voice.

Mr. Spock moved to his table and found a black T-shirt. Her eyes had apparently decided that they had to look at him; at least she could not look away. It was only when he pulled the t-shirt over his head and raised his head to look at her she blinked and lowered her gaze.

How embarrassing was this? Openly gawking at her instructor commander, like she was some kind of fan-girl. She hoped he hadn't noticed it or that he would be to polite to EVER mention it.

It dawned on her that while she was busy being embarrassed he had explained the answer to the problem. That was just great! Too caught up in drooling over an instructor just because he looked fit with or without black t-shirt… marvellous!

She tried to make her ears hear what was actually being said; "…and the result of you teaching the rest of the group has had an apparent effect. You have a remarkable talent for languages, Ms Uhura" He had still a sparkle in his eyes, a leftover from meditation.

She was still transfixed by the way the T-shirt fitted perfectly and she made a modest answer: "Oh, I don't know. I guess I always had an interest in any language… Really, I think it's fun…" She stopped, confused but focusing on what he had said. "I'm sorry… My teaching? Mr. Spock, I… I'm afraid I don't follow…"

He furrowed his brows slightly, standing with his hands at his back. "Ms. Uhura. You can not be ignorant to the fact that your helping the rest of the class is the prime reason that we are almost done with this year's schedule. I did not think it was possible, but with your aid, both concerning my teaching methods, and your after-class tutoring, the class is almost ready for this years exam."

He shifted his weight a bit, and for a moment she thought he almost looked embarrassed. "I confess I did not take sufficient time before taking on this teaching-assignment, to acquaint myself with the learning capacity for humans. I suspect I took it for granted that the teaching-style of Vulcan would translate directly to the academy, but I see now that I was in error. I thank you, Ms Uhura, for pointing out my mistakes. It has been most educational."

Uhura was completely transfixed by his gaze. That had to be the closest thing he had ever come to saying that she was right and he was wrong. And he was giving HER the honour of the class having achieved such a high level. She wanted to give another modest answer, but in the back of her mind she knew she had been a big part of the process.

She smiled. "Alright. I get it. I'm to cool for my own self…"

Spock raised an eyebrow and regarded her with a glint of humour. "Ms. Uhura, while I don't feel qualified to comment on the exact temperature within your organism, cold is not the word I would choose to ascribe to it…"

Nyota stared at him. Did he just…

His eyes had taken that neutral look that told her nothing.

"No," she thought "He just took what I said literally." She had seen him do that so many times before in class, and sometimes wondered if he really misunderstood. "Get over yourself" she whispered to herself in her mind and gave him her biggest smile to hide her confusion. She made her tone formal, almost mimicking him.

"Well, Mr Spock. It is my honour to have part in such big progress." She thought she saw him relax a little. "I wonder, Mr. Spock, in light of our cooperation, if you would like to use my first name instead of "Ms Uhura?"

Even though his expression remained the same she could suddenly sense a tension in him. "It would not be proper for such familiarity between an instructor and a cadet." He said; his eyes focused at a point just above her head.

"OK then," she said. "Then… How about when there's no one else around? Then you could call me Nyota. It would make me more comfortable."

He lowered his eyes to catch hers. "Very well" he complied "That is acceptable"

She waited. Looking poignantly at him.

"…Nyota." He said, and she thought she saw uneasiness in his eyes. He blinked and went to his desk. "Was there anything further you needed to ask, concerning today's class?" He asked, now sitting at his desk, folding his hands.

Nyota blinked. Damn, that question. Had she asked it? Did he answer? She debated if she could ask him to explain again, but gave up. No way was she admitting to not listening. She smiled again. "No thank you, I think I can take it from here… Spock…" She hesitated for a beat before turning and walking out.

As she returned to her classmates she had decided what to say. "I'm sorry. He wasn't in. You'll just have to ask him next time in class…" She was so pleased with herself that she didn't even hear the whimper from the classmates.


	4. Chapter 4

**Early days**

_Part 4_

Spock's point of view:

Spock realized he was fidgeting with the pen. He immediately stopped himself before any one would see it. He put the pen down and folded his hands. The chair he sat in was comfortable and conveniently in a quiet corner of the instructors lounge. There really was no reason to fidget…

He stood up and walked over to the window and looked out on the beautiful campus-area. An elderly lady had been watching him for some minutes now. He was aware of this, but as he was very familiar with this individual he didn't mind. It was the soon-to-be-retired instructor Ms. Dalton, professor in diplomatic relations.

She called out to him. "Spock, why don't you come over here and sit down? You look like you've got ants in your pants…" he raised his eyebrows and allowed the hint of a smile to show in his face. Ms Dalton was a master of colloquialism, and he knew she always enjoyed torturing him with various Earth-sayings. He walked over to her and sat down in the lounge chair.

"Ms Dalton, I trust you are well today?" he refused to react on her Apocrita in his attire-comment, and he saw her eyes crinkle up in silent laughter.

"Oh, very well, thank you." She replied. "This years' classes are up and running after the summer break and I think they should all do reasonable well when we come to the final exams. How's your group coming along?" Ms Dalton and he often discussed their subject with each other as it wasn't unusual that their subjects overlapped.

She hadn't expected his sudden silence though. The elderly lady waited while Spock seemed to carefully choose his answer. "It is progressing averagely better than it has before. I should say that the remaining cadets will all graduate with excellent marks." He fell silent again.

"That's great Spock. You have five people attending your class this year. That's certainly better that what you have had before. Have you changed anything in your method?" She expected him to give her a small seminar in how to teach, but again was surprised by his unwillingness to talk about it. "Spock. Are you feeling alright?" she asked now concerned.

Spock realized that he had been mentally absent from some of the conversation. "No… Perhaps you are right Ms. Dalton. Maybe I should retire for the day and get some rest…" He stood up and caught her eyes. She smiled at him. Then he turned and walked out and headed for his apartment. He could allow himself an early day, and he felt a great need to centre himself through meditation.

At home in his apartment he dimmed the lights and changed to his meditation clothes. He positioned himself at the mat and started his breathing-exercises, which allowed his thoughts to focus. He was most concerned about the inexplicable restlessness he had experienced lately. Reason stated that it could not be caused by his workload as it been considerably easier for him to teach now that Ms. Uhura was involved in the actual teaching.

That brought him to meditate on the subject of Ms Uhura… Nyota… He appreciated the help, as it was still incomprehensible to him why humans would waste energy in getting angry every time he pointed out a mistake. In his culture it was customary to thank the teacher for finding errors and then correct the mistake.

Spock sank deeper into meditation. His whole body relaxed and it was almost impossible to see if he was breathing at all.

His thoughts kept returning to how she had pointed out where he was going wrong and how much the result of the cadets' work improved after he started praising them right after correcting them. They had been surprised at first but it had been obvious that the new relaxed method had worked. Why Humans needed to have the obvious pointed out, was beyond him. This year as a consequence of this advice helping, he had started having Nyota help directly in class.

To improve efficiency he had also started informing her of the teaching schedule, to allow her to prepare. He had invited her to his office several times to discuss how to best convey the subject at hand to the student and in his opinion it was evident that her suggestions was what made the class respond so well to the subject.

One day when they had stayed in the office to long and it was later than usual, she asked him if he would like to have dinner in a small café in the city. He sensed that she were suddenly nervous but ascribed it to the fact that it was unusual to be this informal with an instructor. It was a nice dinner at the café and they both relaxed and talked with ease of their lives and hopes of the future.

He remembered especially how she told him of her family back home and how they used to tease her with how easily she learned everything and particularly languages. He almost smiled in recollection of how she got the nickname _parrot kidogo, _little parrot, and how she looked remembering this. This introperspective look that told him that, mentally, she was many miles away.

He, in return, told her some of his anecdotes from his childhood and youth. Her eyes had shone with fascination, and he had discovered that he rather enjoyed being the centre of her attention.

Spocks concentration faltered for a second as he remembered her dark eyes and expressive face. She had seemed so intrigued when he had spoke of his home planet and how his young pet-sehlat had stolen every shoe in the house, and his mother had had a somewhat disproportionate emotional reaction as a response. When she giggled over the stories he was relaying to her, he had felt a satisfaction and a warmth inside. He did not often experience that humans found him humorous and he had relished that feeling. As a result the dinner had been prolonged and when at last he realized how late it was he paid the bill and escorted her outside.

When they walked back he noticed that she had grown silent and he remembered how he thought that it was fascinating that she walked closer to him than necessary because she were cold, but at the same time seemed to walk slower. He had of course expressed regret that he had no extra garment he could offer her to keep her warm, and noticed how somehow she had seemed to find that slightly amusing.

There were a moment when she got really close to him (because of the cold) and sent him a look he had yet to decipher (Annoyance? Amusement?) when he insisted that if she were that cold they better return to the dorm at once.

But the recollection of her mediate proximity stayed with him. He could quite precisely visualize how her eyes looked and how his heart rate seemed to increase when he felt her breath on his skin, and how for a moment he felt a great pull towards her like she had activated some strange tractor beam. And that it was only the thought of the fact that she was a cadet and he her instructor that made him come to his senses.

He also had difficulties finding the logic behind the emotion of regret and frustration he experienced when she walked away from him and into her dorm. It was like he suddenly had a wild animal inside craving too grab her and keep her for him self…

Spock almost balked at the ferocity of these emotions. He steadied himself, recognized the feelings and gently let go of them. Let the energy of it fade away in to the universe.

Without doubt here was a clue to the uneasiness he had been struggling with. He tried to find the origin of these feelings and it occurred to him that they first appeared that day in his office.

He remembered that he was coming out of meditation and she was there. With her long legs, and the graceful swanlike neck. He remembered how she looked flustered and confused. He had experienced that sort of thing from others, but he had never been so relaxed in that situation before, as he had been with Nyota. Spock felt a sudden heat in his body; this was new to him… He had _liked_ how she had reacted to him, subtle as it may have been…

He admitted to him self that he took to long that day to put his barriers up and that he might have shown her too much. But strangely it didn't bother him that she got to see more than others usually did... It reminded him slightly of the urges of _Pon farr_ but this was different, in some ways more urgent.

A thought hit him. The human in him, the man, was attracted to a woman. He almost shook himself out of meditation again. He had never thought to expect his human side to claim this side of his nature. He had always first and formerly thought of himself as a Vulcan, and tried to forget that there was a human half which had been sleeping for so long. And now that side had surfaced and apparently wanted to be heard.

Spock frowned in his meditation. This would not do. Perhaps there was some urges that he had not counted on, but to give into them would be unheard of. Also there was the aspect that he could be in severe violation with Academy-rules. The rules clearly stated that a cadet and an instructor were not permitted to have physical relations. The fact that she was, as good as, functioning as a TA in his class did not change anything.

He breathed in deeply and allowed the Vulcan in him to take complete control. The Vulcan in him would dominate the human side with the logic of circumstances, and that would be the end of that.

Somehow he was unable to concentrate on his meditation any more. He adjusted his breathing and his heart rate and slowly turned his attention to the outside world again. When he had finished putting up his usual mental barriers he stood and started to prepare for the next day when Nyota would come to his office to help organize next moths' lessons…


	5. Chapter 5

**Early days**

**_Woops! Guess it's time for that disclaimer-thing: I own nothing. It's not my characters. It's only for the love of my favourite alien..._**

_And: Thanks for the kind reviews so far. It's my first fanfic ever, so I really appreciate it._

_Part 5_

Nyotas point of view:

That was it! The final exams over and done with. Nyota took in a deep breath and threw herself on the bed in her dorm room. Her focus-subject xenolinguistics had been the most difficult, but she had aced everything and even managed to impress Spock with her abilities. His words still rang in her ears… "An unparalleled ability to identify sonic anomalies…" she smiled and enjoyed the heart-flutter that came with that memory.

Now that she had completed the whole thing from over Science to basic navigation she knew she would make a good lieutenant. She had for some time now been making herself known in the right places and to the right persons. Been letting people know that she would like to be on the Enterprise, come launch day.

Her dreams were interrupted when the intercom beeped. She went over and pressed the button. "Uhura here"

"Uhura, it's Tanli. The rest of us are going in to town to celebrate. We're coming to fetch you in twenty minutes. Get ready." The connection was broken before Nyota could respond. She sighed. It wasn't, if she had to be honest, what she had planned for the evening. She was really looking forward to just relax and enjoy that for the first time in four years she had nothing to do, but if the gang was coming over, she couldn't tell them no.

Twenty minutes later she heard the door buzzer and hurried to answer. In came the four others who had managed to get trough the gruelling pace this year. Tanli, Xasha, Eve and Simon all in high spirits. "Come on, Nyota" Simon walked behind Nyota clapping like he was herding chickens. "We'll get something to eat first in the campus café and Tanli says she knows a great bar down town" Nyota couldn't help laughing as she was lead out of the room.

When they got to the campus cafeteria they found that it was easy to find a place to sit. It was almost empty as most of the other graduates were already out celebrating. They sat at a table and loudly discussed what they were going to do during their off-time before they got their assignments. Eve said she was going to go home to her people. "Eve" Simon said narrowing his eyes. "Where exactly are you from? That thing you've got, with the glowing-thing… What is that?" They all looked at her. Eve had never shared that much about her origins, and they had all wondered…

Eve smiled. "Simon, I can't tell you. That is one of the secrets of my people. I can only tell you that there are many of us spread out through the galaxy, and when ever you meet a girl who knows how to do that "Glowing-Thing", you know you have meet one of us…" She looked very mysterious and gazed round at them all… "It is only the women who know of this trick and it is one of my people's best defences"

They all stared at Eve. "Eve, are you kidding?" Nyota asked, in her mind seeing this strange race of glowing women infiltrating humankind.

Eve smiled, eyes laughing "Maybe…" she shot a sideways glance at Simon, who also looked a little worried, then she cracked up. The rest of the group realized that Eve was kidding. At least they hoped…

They sat like that for quite some time, laughing and telling stories. Nyota was about to tell the others that she had decided to stay for a while on campus to attend some social functions to make her face known to the right people. She really wanted to go on the Enterprise and that was worth a few weeks of circulating.

"Hey Ny, look. There's our fine and revered instructor." Tanli looked to the doors with her purple glowing eyes. There stood Spock in his instructors' uniform with his hands on his back. He seemed not to notice the few people in the large cafeteria, and made his way to the food-replicators.

"We should go say goodbye to him. We're probably not going to see him again for some time…" Xasha said, but made no effort to stand.

"Nah, why bother. He won't miss us" Simon had already turned his back to him.

Nyota wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying. She had been busy watching her former instructor. It suddenly dawned on her that maybe Xasha could be right. It could be some time before they would meet again, and she had never even said to him how much she had appreciated his lecturing. She stood up, to the surprise of the others.

"Guys, I'm just gonna go over there to talk for a bit… Be right back…" Tanli shot her what looked like a warning glance, but said nothing. She quickly went across the room.

"Mr. Spock, You eat in the cafeteria? She said as she walked up next to him. He was carrying a small plate of fruits and a glass of water.

As he heard her voice it looked like he jumped a bit, but when he spoke his voice was as calm as ever. "Ms. Uhura" He made his way to a table in a corner of the room. She followed him over. Spock sat his plate at the table and turned to her. "I believe congratulations are in order. I have heard that you have come first in most of your exams." He straightened and put his hands at his back. His eyes scanned the room.

She smiled up at him. "Yeah, thanks. There was that botany-course I didn't do so well in, but all in all…" She tried to catch his eyes, but he was, once again, looking at that point over her head. "Mr Spock." She said and this time she touched his arm to get his attention. He almost flinched and looked at her hand, then at her face.

She removed her hand. "Mr. Spock. I want to say thank you for what you have taught me. I have learned so much and it has opened a whole new world to me. I couldn't imagine any other teaching me so much in such a short amount of time. It has been an honour." She had not blinked or looked down during her speech and he had held her gaze also without blinking. Now that she had said what she felt like she had to say, they both stood there, looking into each others eyes.

His face was so hard to read normally, but now it betrayed a softness and a surprise she hadn't seen before. "Ms. Uhura. It is not often I receive gratitude for my lessons. I do believe you are the first to do so."

He blinked and raised his eyebrows "I am at a lost why others do not follow your example…" He looked at her with that hidden humour she had come to find very funny.

She made sure her face was exactly as neutral as his when she answered him. "No doubt, they are in such awe of the splendour of the teaching-style, that they can not find the words to express their gratitude."

He cocked his head, regarding the group at the other end of the room. "That seems logical." He looked at her again and once again she saw that hidden glint of laughter in his eyes. There was even a small smile in the corners of his mouth and she finally had to give.

"Yes, logical" she smiled up at him. Their eyes met again and for a moment she had no idea of where she was.

"Oi! Uhura!" a loud voice made them both jump. Nyota turned and saw Simon making his way over to them. Spock straightened his back and all of a sudden seemed to tower over them. "Are you coming? We're done eating and we wanna go…" he looked at his former instructor. "Commander..."

Spock eyed Simon with a neutral glance. "Mr. Mitchell. I hear you have also completed your exams." Simon stood by Nyotas' side and waited for the congratulations that usually came. This time, however, they seemed not to come. Spock only looked at him, unblinking, like he was a specimen about to be dissected.

The silence got to Nyota. "Simon… I…"

Simon interrupted her. "Come on, Chickpea. We gotta go!" He put his hand around her waist and made to turn her towards the doors, where the rest of the group was waiting. She shot a look back at Spock. He gave her a small nod and remained standing where he was. She saw him look at Simon and thought to herself that he had looked almost angry for a minute. She didn't have time to dwell on it though. Simon was once again clapping his hands behind her, like she was livestock to be herded towards the others. She couldn't help laughing at him. He was so silly and she knew he was just goofing around to hide how much he wanted to get Eves attention.

When they got over to the group they gathered their belongings and made for the door. Laughing and with their arms around each other they all went to celebrate at the bar Tanli knew.

It turned out that it was a bar owned by Tanlis' uncle. The place was crowded and a band was playing live on a small stage. Tanli introduced them all to her uncle and soon they all had drinks in their hands and a private table near the stage. Tanli immediately got up to dance with a very tall man with equally purple glowing eyes. Simon grabbed Nyota and led her to the dance floor. Eve and Xasha stayed at the table.

Nyota was enjoying the music and she and Simon stayed on the dance floor. She noticed however that Simon kept shooting glances to their table. Finally Nyota took Simons arm and dragged him over to the bar.

"Si. Why don't you say something to her?" Nyota smiled at the surprised look he gave her. "You're never gonna know if you don't do something, right?"

Simon smiled at her. "Ever the perceptionist. Huh?... I don't know Ny. What if she tells me to get lost?" He ran a hand trough his hair.

"No. You're probably right Simon" She said while waving at the bartender to get his attention "It's better to dance with me. I'm much more likely to tolerate those… alternative… dance-moves…" The bartender came over and she ordered her drink. Simon was looking at her, laughter in his eyes.

"Nyota Uhura," he said pulling her in for an embrace "You are beautiful!" He kissed her on the cheek and made his way over to the table. She saw him sit down next to Eve. Nyota turned to get her drink and when she turned back she saw the two of them heading for the exit. He looked nervous, but Eve had an air of certainty over her. Nyota went over to the table and flopped down next to Xasha.

"Great place, huh" she said to Xasha who smiled distractedly in her direction.

"'Sure is… Ny, would you excuse me, I just saw someone at the bar…" He stood and Nyota hurriedly moved out of the way. He looked down on her and realized that she was a bit hurt by his leaving. "Sorry, Ny… It's just… I've been eyeing this… Person… all evening and…" He smiled at her and winked. "I gotta go see about a guy…" He took her hand and squeezed it. Then he headed for the bar and introduced himself to one of the very tall, orange-tinted skinned, purple-eyed men.

Nyota sat at the table and watched the others enjoy their evening. She caught a glimpse of Tanli from time to time, always laughing and dancing with some admiring guy. Xasha was deep in conversation with that guy and Simon and Eve had apparently gone to do some serious talking. She sighed.

How come she always ended up sitting by herself in these situations?

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she hadn't really wanted to go in the first place. She had been looking forward to a rare evening of relaxing, and now she had ended up here… Which was just silly.

She collected her belongings and headed for the exit. Once outside she drew in a big breath. She felt free somehow. With steady pace she made her way home.

She was nearing the campus grounds on one of the darker lanes when she heard a meowing sound. She stopped and searched the dark. From under a bench a little ginger cat came towards her. It purred and started circling her feet, rubbing it's head on her legs.

"Aww… Kitty, aren't you a beauty?" she reached down to the cat and it almost threw itself on her hand to catch the caress. She smiled and mumbled in Swahili "Habari yako nzuri."

The cat purred and circled her. She stroked it again "Je, wewe ni nzuri kidogo paka?" It looked up at her with dark eyes and blinked. Nyota returned the blink and scratched its ear to the cats' obvious contentment." Kwenda nje na kuwinda panya, paka ndogo?" By now Nyota was completely won over by the ginger cat and headed for the bench that stood at the side of the lane.


	6. Chapter 6

**Early days**

_**Disclaimer: **__**I own nothing. It's not my characters. It's all for the love of my favourite alien...**_

_Part 6_

Spock's point of view:

Spock was thinking about women.

He remembered the girl that, some years ago, decided to try to get a reaction from him by clinging to him and proclaiming her undying love. There was that day when she had cried and told him that she had to either get him to love her or go away to a colony on another planet. It wasn't that he didn't appreciated her skills and even found her quite attractive, but she wanted to make him human, which he knew he could not give her. He remembered how he was almost embarrassed on her behalf and slightly annoyed that she was trying to force him to be something he so obviously could not be. He compared the uncomfortable feeling he felt back then to the easy way he was able to exchange views with Nyota

His thoughts went to Vulcan and the short but concise message he and his betrothed T'Pring had exchanged right before he left. When she had learned that he had rejected the Vulcan Science Academy she did not hide her disapproval. She had tried to get him to stay where he was, agreeing with his father that the Vulcan way was the only right way to go. Only his mother had recognized that maybe he would find a home in Star Fleet that he could not find on Vulcan. T'Pring was content on Vulcan and she had never even once tried to contact him and it was extremely seldom he thought of her.

Spock sat in his chair, a cup of tea in front of him and the lights dimmed in his apartment, in the hope of calming him self. He was very tense and found it impossible to relax. The thought of Nyota being swept away by that dark-haired mongrel of a lung-worm-diseased smuggler…

Spock stopped himself. That was hardly fair to assume that Mr. Mitchell's parentage had had lung-worms… He had been filled with the urge to rip that cadet to pieces when he dared to take her away from where they were talking, and had he had the opportunity…

Spock stopped once more and shifted in his chair. It was definitely the mental image of Nyota walking away on the arm of that… Spock breathed a big calming breath.

OK, there was now the acceptance of him experiencing jalousie at the thought of Nyota flirting with other men. The acceptance came with a feeling in his body of having a large object on his heart. That was rather unfair, he thought, as his heart wasn't even where humans had theirs. He should have been able to avoid this feeling of sinking.

Jalousie was just a temporary state of being. He recognized the feeling and allowed it to linger a moment before gently sending it away, out in the universe. A state of being, like sadness and hunger and wanting and anger and…

Spock rose from his chair and started wandering back and fort in his apartment.

He knew it was very unlikely that she would choose to spend the evening with him, given her need for laughter and open expression of feelings, which was something he knew he would not be able to give her. He was, after all, prone to long silences and long trains of thought.

He may be considered very smart both on Earth and on Vulcan, but a human female would object the constricted lifestyle he could offer. He was just too different, with no home either on Vulcan or on Earth. And besides he expected to get an assignment on a Star Ship in foreseeable future. This would take him away from Earth for a very long time and make impossible any relationship…

Spock stopped and looked out the window, into the night. Hands on his back.

He remembered that night when he walked her home after dinner, and realized that maybe she had been telling him something, without speaking it. Maybe she had tried to tell him that he should have initiated some sort of physical contact.

He had seen it many times; couples embracing or holding hands on campus, but never thought that maybe that was what she had expected him to do. He had never felt the need to touch anyone like that and it certainly wasn't what was done on Vulcan… Why should they? Everything that was needed to sense the thoughts and sensibilities was a touch of the fingers.

That was the way he had always thought it. In fact he had, when he first came to the Academy on Earth thought it indiscreet and bad manners to publicly flaunt such emotions. That had been the most difficult to accept. Humans apparently enjoyed these things, and he had, over time, learned to ignore it.

Now, however, he was slowly loosing all ability to concentrate or indeed think logically, at the thought of Nyota embracing the dark-haired diseased-ridden cadet. Spock held his breath as he wondered how it would be if _he_ were to put his arms around Nyota. How would her eyes look? How would her body feel pressed up against his? Would her mind be open to him? Would she accept his touch?

He paused. This was an extremely illogical train of thought. He had never made any claim on Nyota, and surely the choice she made, to follow the celebratory group was quite natural. She had finished top at the class and he knew very well that she had worked very hard to perfect her skills as a xenolinguist. She even surpassed him at times… He smiled to himself. She truly was quite the human being…

Spock went back to his chair, sat down and allowed him self to indulge in the vision of Nyota working and concentrating. He remembered her scent when they were working late in his office and he could almost hear her voice asking him questions.

The memory of her sitting with her legs pulled up under her in the lounge chair and her head tilted back to look at him while he was talking about the lessons filled his mind. Sometimes when she was concentrating on some subject she forgot he was there and started singing to her self while she read. When that happened he usually allowed himself to stop what he was working on and simply observe her. He would sit there and quietly bask in the moment.

Suddenly he was lost in a wave of regret. Why had he not made clear to her how he was feeling? Why had he just sat there? The human in him reared and he wanted to find her and tell her what he had discovered…

He straightened in his seat. Everything was as before. He was still half Vulcan, still soon to go away, still unable to fit in. He let the Vulcan in him take control. It was time to be sensible and to stop this foolish lingering. There was nothing to do that to accept the situation and move on.

He sat very still for a while trying to get the two sides of his to come to terms. With an irritated sigh he stood up, went to his closet and pulled out his exercise clothes. Maybe a run would help…


	7. Chapter 7

**Early days**

_**Disclaimer: **__**I own nothing. It's not my characters. It's all for the love of my favourite alien...**_

_Part 7_

Nyotas point of view.

Nyota had sat down on the bench. The little ginger cat jumped up next to her and meowed quietly. She held out her hand to it once more and it pushed its head into her palm. "Oh, you little _mnyama_…" She mumbled. The cat sent her an impatient look. Nyota stroked the cat while it tried to climb on her lap. She held it back when suddenly the cat froze and stopped purring. It looked out in the dark and gave a little mew.

"What is it kitty, huh? A mouse?" Nyota was just about to stroke the cat again, when she heard footsteps. She looked up and was suddenly completely unable to think. Spock was standing where the street lights were just reaching him. He looked… well, not surprised, but certainly out of balance, to see her there.

He shifted his weight a couple of times as though he was debating whether to walk away or to get nearer and talk to her. The ginger cat took the decision. It meowed at him very loudly and started kneading with its paws.

Spock gave what she had learnt to interpret as a smile and approached. "I see you have met my friend T'Pau" He said as he sat down at the bench with the cat between them.

"T'Pau?" She asked. She had almost forgotten the cat. He was looking very… different tonight, she thought. He had his exercise clothes on and even though he wasn't exactly sweating, he was getting there. And he had had a sort of breathlessness in his voice, which could only be heard if you had a trained ear, like she had.

"A name from my home planet…" It seemed to give him some satisfaction to have given the cat this name. Her brain was still in neutral, and she couldn't think of a single thing to say. She could almost feel the awkward silence.

"It's not my cat. I don't know if it belongs somewhere. I meet it often when I exercise, and I decided it should have a name…" If she didn't know better she would think he was babbling.

He reached his long fingers out to the cat. It suddenly purred louder than she had ever heard a cat purr, and its eyes closed in ecstasy as his fingers found the best places to scratch. The cat almost toppled over in an effort to catch every caress.

Spock was concentrating on stroking the cat and Nyota was mesmerised by his hands. They moved with such grace. They looked as if they would never slip or make a wrong move. They were beautiful hands that could caress and hold, and… She looked away and tried to get her cheeks to stop blushing. When she looked back she saw he was looking at her. "… Nyota… Why are you out here alone? I assumed it was customary for cadets to celebrate at this time."

She looked down. "Yeah, it is. I just… I think I just got tired. I was actually on my way home, when I met this little charmer." She smiled down at the cat, which had now laid it self up against Spock's leg, and pretended it had been there for the last tree hours.

Spock let a twitch of a smile show in the corner of his mouth as he too regarded the cat. "It is dark and the temperature is dropping. Do you wish me to accompany you the rest of the way?" She looked up, surprised at his sudden gallantry. She nodded and together they got up. The cat sighed at them and jumped down from the bench. It circled Spock's legs a couple of times and then it disappeared in the shadows.

Nyota started walking with Spock beside her. "Are you sure it is only fatigue that is making you abstain from from celebrating? Usually experience tells me that cadets often celebrate beyond the limits of fatigue." He was sounding worried.

She was surprised. Had she ever heard that tone in his voice before? "Well. Maybe it wasn't all tiredness that made me call it a day." She admitted and looked up at him. He was listening very intent. "I just sat there in the midst of all those people. And they ARE my friends, right? But suddenly I just felt so out of place. I felt like I had nothing in common with them, and… maybe… I got a little lonely…" She had lowered her head. It felt silly to say to this Vulcan commander that she had felt lonely. Did he even know what that was?

"Ah, I see." He said. "I believe I know the sensation of which you are talking. It is a sense I have encountered often, at social functions. I find that most humans have no patience to talk to someone with so different reference points as I appear to have."

She stopped walking and gave a little laugh. "You, Spock? Do you feel out of place sometimes?" she stepped nearer to him to see his eyes. They were very dark.

"To be different: To be "out of place" Nyota? Yes, I believe I know what that is like." He held her gaze, and she realized that she could feel his breath on her face. For a moment she forgot what it was she was doing at a dark lane, in the middle of the night, with her instructor, commander Spock.

A bird suddenly started making alarm cries warning other birds that there was a cat on the prowl. Nyota shivered and heard her teeth rattle with cold.

"Are you cold?" he asked softly. He gave her a searching look and hesitantly put his hand on her elbow. She stopped breathing. She felt how he slowly drew her in to put his arms around her, and without even thinking her body had responded and her hands were on his upper arms. She looked at her hands. They seemed like they had just waited to do that.

She breathed in and caught his smell. There was something otherworldly about the smell of him.

What ever it was, her hands had wandered to his neck and her whole body was pressed up against his. "I have, once again, no expendable garments to offer you…" His voice mumbled in her ear, giving her goosebumps all over. She found she couldn't answer. As she stood there in the dark, with his body tight against hers, she, the Little Parrot, had lost all power for speaking.

She closed her eyes, turned her head slightly and breathed in the smell of him. His arms held her a little tighter. She started feeling a nervous longing and something she recognized as a need to protect and keep safe. To… keep _her_ safe… The realization hit her. It was Spock's feelings she was hearing. He was emitting it and she was picking it up.

She felt like she was eavesdropping and pulled a little out of his arms. The feelings subsided a bit, but they were still there. She pulled back some more and he released her, letting his arms fall down by his sides.

"I… I better get going…" She hardly knew what to say to him. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, it was too dark to tell anything from his face.

"Yes of course" He said in a low voice. "I believe your dorm is very near here. Let us walk." They both were very quiet on the last stretch to her dorm. They were almost there when they both stopped. They stood and looked at the entrance. The lights from the street lamps were just reaching them, and she knew he wouldn't follow her all the way to the doors.

She turned to him, feeling the change in the dynamics between them. Something had definitely changed in the last half hour. "Sooo… Yeah… Goodnight… Spock. Thank you for making sure I got home alright." She heard how breathless her voice sounded.

He was very still. His eyes were filled with that nervousness she had sensed earlier. That uneasiness, she realized, he would never allow any other to see. She felt warm inside and stepped closer to him. She put a hand on the side of his head and stroked his cheek. Then she reached up and kissed him gently on the lips.

The kiss was meant to be a thank you for making sure she was safe, but when she touched his lips she suddenly felt like she was in a time warp. It was like their lips fitted perfectly together and the only thing she was aware of was the way her body reacted to the feel of his soft lips. She felt him hesitantly leaning into the kiss and she met him, opening her mouth, encouraging him to explore.

Spock made a little moaning sound. He put his hands to hold her head and deepened the kiss. She was in a river of emotion, of discovering new sensations and tasting her mouth and feeling how the body responded with a heat she could hardly contain, and at the same time as images of the two of them naked in ad darkened room flashed before her, she worried if she was harming her and if she would think him too forward and the need to pull her closer to be part of her was like a hunger that would not be sated unless he could be closer, could be in her...

"Nyota…" She heard his soft whisper in her ear and her eyes flew open and with a gasp she pulled away. She felt like she had felt everything in that kiss twice over. It was like she was looking trough a kaleidoscope. Her mind struggled to make sense, and she shook her head.

She looked at him with eyes that were just awakening to what had happened. "I'm…" She touched her lips, all swollen. "Spock…" He stood there, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. Suddenly she felt faint and the world seemed to spin. She felt his arms supporting her.

"Nyota…" he started, but apparently unsure of what he was going to say next, he went quiet. Then they started talking at the same time "Spock…" "I am sor…" they both went quiet. Spock seemed to stand up a bit taller. "I regret I did not have more control. I was not prepared for…" his voice trailed of again.

She smiled, still feeling a little faint. "Spock, it's alright... I just really need to… Go..." She looked at him. He was slowly regaining control again. She turned and walked to the dorm. When she reached her room she went to the window and looked out. He was still standing there. A shadow in the dark. Standing completely still.

She watched him for a very long time until he jolted ever so slightly and started walking towards his home with steady steps.


	8. Chapter 8

**Early days**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's not my characters. It's all for the love of my favourite alien..._**

_And: Thanks again for all the kind reviews. It's what makes me get over my nerves and just keep uploading.  
_

_Part __8_

Spock's point of view:

He had scared her.

That much was certain. He drew in breath and checked him self in the mirror. His formal Starfleet uniform were fitting like it was supposed to. He adjusted the gold collar to perfection and made sure the science-blue fabric was uncreased and lint-free. His thoughts a million miles away, or rather two weeks away.

Since that night he had had the whole scenario running in his thoughts almost all the time. He had berated himself for slipping and letting the human in him control his actions. Especially when he had been so close to regaining his Vulcan mindset.

He had not expected her to be there, in the dark lane, and, when she disclosed to him that she had felt lonely, something in him had jumped at the opportunity to make that connection with her. He had never been so forthright before. The kiss was something he had not foreseen and it had taken him by surprise that she had done such a thing.

He paused at the thought of what had been his first kiss. Strange that something like that should affect him like it had. The total lack of control and how he had completely forgot about the world was something quite new to him and he knew that he had shared emotions with her without being able to sufficiently to control it.

How a human would react when, unprepared, confronted with this sensation, he could not know. However it had seemed to make Nyota very uncomfortable and he could not forgive himself for forcing this on her. He was ashamed of the display of bad manners and poor control from his side. It was only natural that she had not wanted to talk to him since.

Besides, he thought, now that he was on his way to this social gathering, where he was to be recommended for the position as first officer, it was perhaps for the best.

He checked the mirror again; making sure the uniform was tidy and made his way out the doors.

At the admirals ball he quickly presented himself to the right people and made sure they had all registered that he was the best candidate for first officer, and then found a relatively quiet corner to stand.

"Ah, Commander Spock." An enthused voice said behind him. Spock braced himself as he turned. That was the voice of security-officer Moors, a genial, but somewhat shallow character.

"Officer Moors. I thought you had taken leave for the next two weeks." Spock said as he turned, but suddenly had a sensation like the floor had disappeared underneath him. Nyota was standing next to Moors, obviously as shocked to see him there as he was to see her.

Officer Moors was oblivious. "Say, Spock, Have you ever met this young lieutenant? She has some interesting views on the Romulans… And Ms. Uhura. If you want to put in a good word for getting on the Enterprise, you should talk to Spock here. He is in the loop." Moores smiled broadly at the both of them and walked of, not noticing the uncomfortable state of the two people he left behind him.

Spock looked out over the crowd and tried desperately not to betray any emotions.

"Cadet Uhura" he said every inch the guarded Vulcan. "I trust you have enjoyed the completion of your exams and that you are well?"

She held her eyes down cast. "Yes. Thank you. I am done with all my exams…" She suddenly looked up, catching him off guard. "… but I am not exactly well." Her eyes, so expressive, conveyed a sadness and hints of anger. "In fact, There are a few things I would have had happened different, and…" she stopped herself before her voice rose. She shot a glance at some people who stood near, to make sure they weren't listening in.

He moved a little closer to her and lowered his voice. "Nyota. I am truly… sorry… for what happened that night. I believe I was, as the earth-saying goes "caught in the moment", but that does not justify what I did. I assure you, that it was not meant to cause you pain or discomfort" He waited for her to speak, but she only looked at him, her mouth slightly open, her breath shallow and her eyes wide.

He thought that he needed to explain further; "I have but recently discovered that perhaps my human side is not as submissive as I had thought. In fact I have for quite some time felt that a union with a human woman would…" he struggled with how to put his words as precisely as possible without causing offence. "…Be something to be desired…" He felt himself unable to look at her whilst he was explaining his regrettable mistake. "And for almost the exact period of time, I have thought of you as the one with whom I could share this experience. On Vulcan a union is firstly a meeting of mind, and I was not prepared for the strengths of physical sensations when we… touched… that night. I made the error of transmitting some of my sensations to you and I regret that I could not control my emotions sufficiently."

He shot a quick glance at her. She was still not moving. He just needed to say the last bit and then he could go somewhere to meditate and calm himself. "I thank you for letting me discover my error, and for giving me time to… apologize." He almost winced at the last word. It was not usually one that the Vulcans would use. Still avoiding looking at her he made a slight bow and turned to walk away from her. He suspected he was now beginning to feel what humans called "a broken heart".

He made his way out, not wanting to stay at a place where he had felt such strong emotions. Maybe, if this was one of the perks of living on Earth, he might as well go back to Vulcan. At least there he could be centred again. After all he was raised to be a Vulcan and it would be easy to slip into Vulcan society. He could do that…

"Spock!" The voice hit him like a phaser shot in the heart. He heard her call again "Spock!" and the sound of running feet.

He waited. Numb.

She came running up to him. Eyes blazing. "You're an idiot!" she exclaimed as soon as she came near him.

He raised his eyebrow, almost as an imitation of himself, to attempt to look unfazed. However he could not find the words to answer her. He felt the two natures in him tearing him a part. The Vulcan wishing to go away and purge all emotions, and the human part, who wanted to touch her, to feel everything about her.

"I'm not angry that you kissed me, you dope! I liked that I felt what you felt! That's not what this is about!" She said intensely, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

He stood frozen. Staring at her like she had just started talking Ylwidic.

"You didn't say a word to me for almost two weeks after that! What were you expecting? I'm not the one with telepathic abilities here. Couldn't you feel that I was right there with you?"

He was unable to move. His thought process apparently out of function.

"Spock, Say something" she pleaded, her eyes filled with emotions.

He jolted. "I… You… Nyota… You liked what you felt?" he said, needing to hear it again.

She blinked and made a little smile "I loved it… It was just a bit much, to get used to, you know? But it made me feel so secure and wanted. I could never take that as an insult!" She smiled again, tears flowing freely.

Finally he was able to move. He gently took her hand and let his emotions seep into her. All the sadness and desire and admiration he had for her. She gasped and leaned into him.

"Is it to much?" He asked concerned.

"No. no, I just gotta get used to this feeling of feeling twice over." She looked up at him and gave him that crooked smile he had come to look forward to. "Come" she said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Early days**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's not my characters. It's all for the love of my favourite alien..._**

_Part __9_

Nyotas point of view.

As they stepped in to Spock's apartment she took a moment to appreciate how simple and tasteful it was decorated. Held in whites and light greys, it allowed the few art objects to stand out.

She turned to him. "It's really nice here. I like how you can really tell this is your space. Kinda smallish though…" she babbled. She knew this, but she was just too nervous not to do so.

He raised his eyebrow. "I have in fact been offered a bigger residence, on account of my seniority. However as this is quite adequate for one person to live in I have not made use of the opportunity"

She looked at him, not knowing what to think of the formal tone he had switched to. He had clearly wanted her to come here, and on the way here he had sent her some looks that told her of feelings that needed to be expressed. Now however, he gave an air of discomfort and formality.

She decided to push him a bit; "But surely you must have had company here? Haven't you had a… girl… sleeping over?" She was almost dreading the answer. But she needed to know. Her eyes fixed at him. He hesitated for a beat and then relaxed his shoulders, opening himself up to her.

He found her eyes "Nyota, while I have some acquaintances here on Earth of both male and female variety, I have never found the opportunity, nor the inclination to invite anyone to a… sleepover… Indeed, you are the first human to visit my apartment." He lowered his eyes shielding his thoughts from her.

She went over to him. "Spock… You've… Are you telling me you've never been with a girl before? She waited for him to answer, then, when it never came she took his hand. The emotions within him started to flow into her conscience. She felt how he wished he had some experience to offer her and that he could take more control of the situation.

"Spock" she said gently. "It's alright. I'm honoured to be the one to show you this." She felt him relaxing as the purity of her feelings hit him. She let her hands wander up to caress the back of his neck, running her fingers through his hair.

He closed his eyes and, for a moment, he looked exactly like the cat they had both seen on campus. His hands wandered, almost as if they had a mind of their own, to her lower back. He pulled her closer to him. She felt a rush of feelings that she knew didn't come from her, and had to rest her head on his chest while the world slowly stopped spinning.

"What is it?" he said gently in her ear and she kept her eyes firmly closed.

"It's alright… I just got a little dizzy." She looked up "I'm not used to this. Sharing of emotions. So you have to have a little patience with me here…" Her smile was a little shaky.

"Nyota" he said concerned "If you find that this is too much for you, I would rather you told me. I do not wish to force anything on you" He moved to release her from his grip, but she held him close.

"Don't you dare letting go now mister." She said with determination.

He gave her a searching look before a slight smile showed in the corner of his mouth "I would not dream of it" he said, bending his head down to her and meeting her mouth in a kiss.

It started as a relaxed kiss, but it soon grew more intense. Her hands trailing his ears, giving him, what he believed was "Goosebumps" all over his body. She smiled as her thoughts followed his wonder of this new phenomenon. Spock had often wondered about those "kisses" that he saw humans exchange all the time, but he had, until recently, thought it primitive and unnecessary. Now Nyota saw in his mind the understanding of that indeed it was primitive, but certainly not unnecessary. He was aware of her breathing and her heartbeat, indeed her entire body and understood how a kiss could convey a myriad of information and emotions.

As Spock explored her mouth she felt like her knees were turning into water, and that her body might catch fire. He stopped and looked down her body. "Your knees look to be working. Why are you concerned about them?" he asked trying to sound like he hadn't just kissed her senseless. She chuckled slightly.

"It's an expression Spock. Never mind" her hands starting to find the buttons of his formal Starfleet uniform. He looked down on her fingers, letting her open the blue and gold shirt and slipping it of him. She pulled the black t-shirt over his head as well, smiling at the memory of the day she had caught him coming out of meditation in his office. How she had been unable to look away from his body then. Reaching out and touching him, she was aware that he was sharing that memory with her, and she caught his eyes and smiled.

He felt her appreciating how his body looked, and even though he knew it was an illogical sentiment, he felt glad that she admired it. It made him feel more confident that it was right to admire her body in return.

As she caught that thought she started to unbutton her dress uniform. Her elegant fingers slowly unbuttoning and revealing her skin underneath. Spock watched her and felt like it was getting difficult to breathe. As she let her dress slip down he took in her entire body and the delicate underwear she was wearing.

Without thinking he reached for her and grabbed her gently by the elbow. "Come" he whispered and lead her into his bedroom. She felt, trough his touch, how he was almost trembling from desire and nervousness. Gently she took his hands and pulled him down next to her on the bed. His eyes had lost that reservation she had gotten so used to. Now they shone with feelings. She took a moment to bask in the warmth that he was emitting.

"Spock" she said softly "Why don't we remove your trousers?" He looked down himself and back at Nyota and after smiling slightly at her he unbuttoned the trousers. She helped pull them down and of his feet. He was sitting on the bed. Naked and unsure of what to do. She felt his confusion and sat next to him, still wearing her underwear.

Gently she touched his face, letting her fingers trace down his cheek to his chin. She moved in to kiss him and this time she was prepared for that feeling of experiencing the same thing with two minds. Feeling twice over. This time she relished in the sensation that she could tell exactly how she gave him most pleasure.

Spock also experienced a sensation of delight he had never felt before. This could never be compared with _Pon farr_ how ever raw and animalistic that had seemed. This ran deeper perhaps because of the need they both had, to pleasure the other. The admiration and concern for each other made this union so much more than he had ever encountered before.

He didn't realize that his body had its own agenda, besides kissing, and to Spock it seemed like she had as by magic floated to sit on his lap. His hands left her waist, where he had grabbed her to pull her on top of him, and stroked her back and neck. They wandered downwards to rest on her buttocks, where he squeezed and caressed.

She pulled out of the kiss to look down on his face. There was no trace of the logical being she was used to seeing. His eyes, half closed, burned with a desire only matched by her own. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Spock let his hands cup her breasts and carefully let a thumb flick over the nipples. She moaned in response and after looking up at her face he put his mouth to her nipple. The gasp and almost purring told him that gently sucking and letting his tongue run circles around the nipples was something she was enjoying. He continued this and grew more exited every time she moaned and undulated against his groin.

Spock's tongue were sending flames though her body and soon Nyota could not stand to wait. She lifted herself away from him, which made him almost growl with frustration. She quickly shed her panties and threw her legs around him, straddling him once more.

Their eyes and their minds met, in a perfect understanding of the importance of this moment they were sharing. She felt a wave of desire from him and the need to keep her safeand, in return, she freely let him sense her trust and the longing she had for him. He drew her face nearer to his to taste her lips and she met him letting the passion between them rise.

"Nyota" He moaned "I need you… I need to…" his eyes filled with passion. She reached down and grabbed him. His head rolled back and he moaned without words. She let him push into her slowly, to savour the experience, and when she began to move she could feel him fighting to keep the last control. His hands were at her thighs squeezing and his hips moving ever so slightly. She could sense how he wanted to meet her movements and how he fought to postpone the moment of release.

"Spock" She whispered, her voice hoarse with passion "Don't hold back. It's OK…" She moved a bit faster and suddenly he looked up at her and almost growled. He grabbed hold of her and rolled the both of them. She gasped surprised; she had never imagined him to take over like that. He started to move in her, controlling his movements. She arched her back and let the sensation of her body flow over her. Her screams and moans exciting him even more. She could feel how she was getting nearer and she reached up for him. Together they reached the perfect rhythm and with their bodies and their minds intertwined they found release in the arms of each other.

xxx

Some time after, she stirred and opened her eyes. She turned her head and looked at him. His eyes were open and awake. He was quiet. She gave him a little smile

"Hey" she said. He reached up and smoothed her hair with his long fingers. Still not speaking. She turned her body towards him and gave him a searching look. She couldn't sense anything from him.

"Are you alright?" she asked feeling a flutter in her stomach. He kept quiet and the silence was getting to her.

"Spock. Say something…" She looked into his eyes and realized they were brighter that usual.

He blinked and sighed, "Nyota. What you have given me is more that I could have ever imagined… I had not thought it was possible to have these strong feelings and still be able to function…"

She felt her eyes misting up. He sat up in the bed, looking down at her. Silence again. She waited. Content with just watching him.

"Nyota." His voice was gentle and almost trembling. "I think this feeling I have for you is called "Love"…"

She pulled her self up to look him in the eyes. She could hardly breathe when she said "Love? You… Love me?"

He took her hand and formed it. Two fingers outstretched, and covered them with his own. Once again she was feeling twice over. He laid his feelings and emotions out for her to see and let her feel exactly what he was feeling. Gently she felt him asking if she would allow him access to her mind and without hesitation she opened her self up to him.

They sat like that for a long time. It was only the sounds of the birds starting to sing outside that brought them back to the world. They locked eyes and gave each other a little smile. Then, without words they snuggled up to each other and quickly fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Early days**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's not my characters. It's all for the love of my favourite alien..._**

_And finally: I only wanted Spock to have a little happiness before __the events of the ST-movie__ and I have been truly __thankful for all the kind reviews. I really didn't expect such a nice response. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!  
_

_SO... Last chapter... Phew!  
_

_xxx_**_  
_**

_Part 10_

Spock's point of view:

Spock made his way from the bedroom to the work area and switched on the computer. He didn't turn on the lights as he knew it would wake her. She had been spending every night for the last week in his apartment, and already he had discovered that she was a very light sleeper. She tended to wake at the tiniest noise.

Since he only needed about three hours of sleep he had enjoyed just resting next to her while she slept, but her dreams had been so vivid that he had had to put some physical distance between them. He was not accustomed to such colourful and vibrant emotions as she was emitting while dreaming. Thus he had every night after she had fallen asleep retreated to the next room. He hoped he would get used to sharing her dreams, just as she was getting used to what she called "feeling twice over", but right now he chose to spare himself the turmoil and focus on the computer. He logged in to the test he had programmed as an advanced psych-test for the cadets that wanted that extra recommendation in their papers.

He checked that the program was fully functioning. After all it had to be up and running for tomorrows' test of one of the more promising cadets on campus. Spock had not made his acquaintance, but he had noticed that even though this cadet had taken the test twice before, he still wanted to try again, and this time Spock wanted to be present to monitor this young man.

He was almost done with the test-run when he heard her stirring in the bedroom. Quickly he finished the last run-through and shut down the monitor. He silently went in to the bedroom and lay down next to her, just as she turned, still half asleep and put her arm over his chest. She made a little mmm-sound, snuggled closer to him and went to sleep again.

He relaxed and turned his head to enjoy the warm smell of her. Even though he resented the use of the word he had to admit that he felt lucky to have won Nyotas heart. He still wasn't sure how she could have developed these deep feelings for him, what he could have done to merit this honour, and when he tried to find the answer in her mind he mostly got impressionistic flashes of his ears and his hands.

Her mind made no sense. And still she was one of the most disciplined humans he had ever met. Today alone she had been in the long-range-lab, listening to transmissions, practising, still honing her skill. She had spent the entire day there, gone home for a change of clothes and come to his apartment where they had had dinner and he had shown her how to play the lute of his home planet. She had made up a song about him with humorous and rather off-colour content. The song had ended in a kiss that had inevitably led them to the bedroom.

Spock moved his arm so she wasn't resting quite as firmly on it. She was so human, and yet she could be so logical. It was her that had suggested that they kept their new found relationship quiet. "I don't want any special treatment" she had said to him with that stubborn glint in her dark eyes that he had seen before. And she was quite right. Even though they were no longer cadet and instructor there would be talk of this. Especially since he, the Vulcan, was involved. It was not something he wished discussed all over campus. What Nyota and he shared was personal.

She sighed in her sleep and mumbled something.

She was so human, and somehow she had made both the Vulcan and the human in him love her. It was not very logical, but that was what he was feeling. He breathed in the smell of her and listened to the faint sound of her heart. Maybe he could sleep for a few hours after all…

xxx

Spock's internal clock told him that it was time to start the day, and he opened his eyes. It was getting light outside and the first birds had started chirping. He allowed himself the luxury of staying in bed for a few moments longer, savouring the physical enjoyment of feeling somebody next to him. Nyota had turned on her stomach and were fast asleep still. He quietly left the bed and went to shower and put his clothes on.

He had had his first cup of morning tea, when she appeared in the door looking bleary-eyed and quite wonderful. She crossed the room and took the cup he had prepared for her.

"Still no coffee, huh?" she eyed the tea in her cup suspiciously. He raised an eyebrow, but made no attempt to answer. He had learned by now that this was her way of teasing him; to ask him questions to which there was an obvious answer.

She sighed and sat the cup down. "Well, no Earl Gray for me until I've had a shower…" She took the bag she had placed by the door yesterday and went into the bathroom

When she got back he noticed she had her uniform on. No doubt, she had a commitment on Academy grounds. She noticed his look. "I'm taking part of the Kobayashi Maru-test today. Just to show the flag, y´know." She finally took a sip from the tea cup and shivered in mock-disgust.

"If you would taste the tea before it got cold perhaps it would not drive you to theatrics every time." he commented and put his own cup down. "Nyota. If you are taking part of the test today, maybe you have heard of the cadet who is the subject for the test? This Cadet Kirk is someone which I have never made an acquaintance with."

He raised an eyebrow when she smiled and looked away. "Yeah, I know him from around campus. I met him back when I was a first year-cadet. We were in Iowa to see the shipyard, to see a Star Ship being build, and I met him at this bar…" She still seemed lost in memory and Spock shifted his weight in his chair, not entirely comfortable of how she looked when she spoke of this Kirk.

"He really wanted to know my first name, but I never told him. I meet him from time to time on campus, and he always asks. Serves him right for grabbing my…" She looked up at Spock and realized that he was looking anything but calm.

"Grabbing your… Nyota?" He said with what to everybody else would sound like a calm voice, but Nyota suddenly looked nervous.

"It's not important. It's three years ago now… Say, I think I'm getting used to that tea. Can I have another cup, please?" He recognized a diversion tactic when he heard it, and respecting her need for a subject-change he stood and made tea for her.

xxx

Spock was staring out of the window in his apartment. The sun was shining and it was another beautiful morning. Spock, however, did not see any of this for the time being. He was deep in thought over yesterdays incident. He rarely was stumped over cadets, and this James T. Kirk had somehow managed to install and activate a subroutine in his programming code. Not only that; he had done it in the short hours from Spock himself had made a run-through of the program and to the time of the test. And Spock could not find any indication of how he had done it.

He had checked every single circuit on the computer, but had been unable to find the error. No doubt Cadet Kirk would be persuaded to reveal at today's hearing how he had done it, but Spock would have liked to know in advance.

He took another sip of his morning tea and heard her at the door to the bedroom. She walked over to him and snuggled up to him. He looked down at her and quirked an eyebrow. "You are behaving like that campus-cat, Nyota. She is almost as demanding of my attention as you are." He put his arms around her. "I sometimes find it curious how females can be such theatrical creatures and still get any work done." He caressed her cheek and briefly shared minds with her, as a morning-greeting.

As their minds touched she gave him an image of a hissing cat which turned into a purring kitten. Her eyes spoke of mischief. He gave her one of his rare smiles and felt her love like a warm wave. In return he sent a feeling of love and the sound of their hearts beating together.

She almost melted into him. "I could get used to saying good morning like this" she mumbled and stood on her toes to kiss him. He bowed his head to kiss her back in a short but tender kiss.

"You'll do fine today" she said, adjusting the collar of his black instructors' uniform and smiling up at him.

He took her hands and heard the echo of another woman telling him that. "You and your "fine's." he said very gently. For a moment he was lost in memory.

"I would like to meet her someday." Nyota was clearly very tuned in to his thoughts. "Your mother seems like a lovely person. It must have been difficult to leave her." She pulled her hands away from his and went to the table where her cup stood. She poured the cold tea out in the sink and filled the cup with water instead. "You know, Kirk told me, some time ago, that his mother lives here on earth when she's not off planet, that is. He apparently was quite the child-delinquent in his younger years."

She was staring out of the window, not noticing the intense stare of Spock. He did not enjoy the idea of James T. Kirk telling Nyota tales from his childhood, nor the way she was smiling while she thought of him.

"His father was George Kirk, who died in the attack of the USS Kelvin all those years ago." She looked back over her shoulder at him. "I'm not sure but I even think that Captain Pike was one of the people he saved by flying the Kelvin into that unknown Star Ship. He also saved his wife and newborn son… James… That day. And from what I hear Jim isn't all that bad in a crisis. He aced everything up till the Kobiashi Maru-test, and he enlisted in Starfleet after me… Besides… You gotta admit; it was a pretty clever stunt to pull…"

Spock went to stand in front of her. He caught her eyes and resisted to put his fingers at her temple to find out every detail. Good manners dictated that she would be allowed to have her private thoughts to her self. "You seem to have talked to him a great deal." He said as neutral as he could.

She looked at him and shrugged. "He needed a person to listen one day, and that's kinda what I do best, right?" She put her arms around him, rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "Spock, I only told you this to make you understand him a little better. He really is the type to never give up. That's the kind of guy you want in Starfleet, isn't it? Please don't use this against him at the hearing today." She looked searchingly into his eyes and held him tight around the waist.

He relaxed and stroked her cheeks. For a moment he enjoyed the strength of her will and the complexities of her emotions. He brushed a few hairs away from her face and pulled away from her. It was almost time to start putting his mental barriers up against the outside world.

"Spock," she said, as he went to clear up after the morning-tea. "I mean it. Don't use what I said about his family against him today."

He turned as he registered the urgency in her voice. "Nyota" he said; his "teaching"-voice coming through "It would not be logical for me to mention any of this at the hearing. It would be, as you humans say it "unfair". Such a trick, to mention deceased family members, is almost always reserved for when one is in personal affect and wish to hurt the opponent rather than argue the case. It is not the Vulcan way of arguing, and I have no intention of breaking that habit".

"Well, that's fine then." She smiled and shook her head at her own choice of words. "I know, I know…" Spock was just about to comment on it as well, when she walked over to him and reached up for a kiss. He leaned in to the kiss and allowed himself to enjoy it, even though he was letting the Vulcan side of his being dominate him more and more. According to his internal clock it was almost time to go. He let go of her and stepped backwards.

"I'll hurry up and get dressed and then I'll leave first. See you here tonight?" She grabbed her bag and hurried to the bathroom. A few minutes later she appeared in her red cadets-uniform. He regarded her and quirked an eyebrow. His hands were at his back.

She stopped just before she reached the door and turned to look at him. Then she put her fingers to her lips and blew him a kiss. As she hurried out the door he could not help but smile internally. He then started his internal clock to count down from five minutes. By then he would have finished clearing up and leave to attend the hearing of cadet James T. Kirk.

The end.


End file.
